The present invention relates in general to material handling equipment and in particular to a new and useful device for transporting flexible workpieces which automatically clamps and releases the workpieces for processing.
According to a method known in garment making, the cuttings to be processed are gathered up in individual bundles, and each bundle is hung in a folded state on the receiving rod of a carrying bracket and clamped. The carrying bracket is either hung on a rail of an overhead trolley or of a power-and-free conveyor and there transported to the various work stations, where, for the duration of the processing of the cuttings it can be unhooked from the rail, inserted in a holding device and thereafter hung on the rail again. Alternatively the carrying bracket may be assigned at only one work station and be carried by hand to the various other work stations.
Since the cuttings must be singled out for processing, it is necessary previously to release the clamping device of the carrying bracket. Releasing the clamping device is, in many cases, very inconvenient for the operator because with one hand he or she must grip the often heavily ladened carrying bracket, while opening the clamping device with the other hand, and must watch that the bundle of cuttings does not slip. In addition to this difficulty, the known holding devices do not ensure a secure hold of the carrying bracket.